Rick Bertagnolli, who recorded his 500th victory leading the Vulcans program during the 2006-07 season, his 14th campaign on the Cal U. dugout, is the winningest coach in any sport in California University athletics history and the only coach at the University to deliver a pair of national championships.
Bertagnolli guided the Vulcans to 11-straight PSAC West titles and NCAA regional tournament bids from 1994 to 2004. His teams have also claimed six PSAC playoff trophies, six NCAA regional crowns and NCAA national championships in 1997 and 1998.
Cal's 15-17 overall record in 2006-07, including an 11-8 mark vs. PSAC West competition, raised Bertagnolli's 14-year record at Cal to 504-155 (76.5%). He has coached 27 All-Americans, 1 Honda-Broderick Award Winner, 1 Olympian, 16 Academic All-Americans, and 107 All-PSAC West players.
He has compiled 28 Coach of the Year awards, including two NCAA National Coach of the Year honors. His 16-year collegiate coaching record, including a 71-14 mark in two seasons at South Carolina-Spartanburg, is 575-169 (77.3%). Including his eight seasons on the scholastic and junior college levels, Bertagnolli's 24-year lifetime record stands at 767-205 (78.9%).
Bertagnolli is a graduate of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, with a bachelor's degree in physical education and a minor in business. During his four-year baseball career, he earned Most Valuable Player and all-conference recognition. In his senior season, SIU-Edwardsville placed fourth in the NCAA Division II College World Series in Riverside, Calif.
He went on to earn a master's degree in Education Administration at South Carolina.
His softball career began playing ASA major fastpitch for the United Van Lines (St. Louis, Mo), Decatur Pride/ADM (Decatur, Ill.) and the Bloomington Hearts (Bloomington, Ill.). He participated in seven state tournaments, five national tournaments, three world tournaments and was a member of the Silver Medal squad at the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival.
Bertagnolli began his coaching career on the scholastic level at Bunker Hill (Ill.) High School, where his teams compiled a 60-10 record in three seasons. In his final season, Bunker Hill upended the top-ranked high school team in the country to win the 1987 Illinois state championship, earning Bertagnolli the state's Coach of the Year award.
In 1989, Bertagnolli coached at Wabash Valley Junior College (Mt. Carmel, Ill.), where he posted an 118-23 overall record. Wabash Valley won three-straight conference titles, advanced to the regional tournament all three years and was ranked nationally each season, topping out at No. 4 in the country in 1991. Bertagnolli, who was named the Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year each season, had numerous players earn all-conference, all-tournament, all-region honors, and seven went on to gain All-America recognition.
He then took the head coaching position at South Carolina-Spartanburg for two years, where he compiled a 71-14 overall record. The NCAA Division II Rifles won back-to-back Peach Belt Conference titles, the first in team history, as well as an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1992. Bertagnolli won a pair of Peach Belt Coach of the Year awards, one from the NFCA South Region and pushed his team into the national rankings both seasons (10th in 1992; 6th in 1993).
